Improved ice-creeper



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM FIELD, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVED ICE-CREEPER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,558, dated January 27, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM FIELD, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and Improved Ice-Calk or IceOreeper, to be applied to boots or shoes, to prevent persons from slipping on ice; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this speoilication, in which- Figure l is a side view of my invention applied to a boot; Fig. 2, a detached front view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding` parts in the two figures.

The object of this invention is to obtain a simple, efficient, durable. and cheap device, which may be readily applied to aboot or shoe to prevent the wearer from slipping on ice.

To this end the invention consists in the use of a claw provided with teeth to prevent slipping and with a spur, which projects upward through or above an attaching-bar, and is adapted to enter the heel, the whole heilig secured to the heel of the boot or shoe, substantially in the manner hereinafter explained.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a metal bar of such length that it may extend across the front part of the heel of the boot or shoe and be bent upward at each side of the heel, and curved a little outward, as shown at a a, to admit of a strap, B, being secured to it at each end. To the under side of the bar A there is permanently secured a spur or claw, C, which is formed of steel or wrought-iron plate bent downward at its front and back edges, and serrated or notched to form saw-shaped teeth b, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The teeth b may project vertically downward, but by preference are made to project obliquely, as shown in Fig. 1, so as more effectually to prevent the foot slipping in either a forward or backward direction. The claw O, if of wroughtiron, should be casehardened, in order to resist wear, and it may be nearly equal in length to the straight part of the bar A, as shown in Fig. 2. The outer sides ot' the teeth at each end of the claw are vertical, in order to prevent lateral slipping. At about the center of the claw C there is attached a pointed spur, D, which projects upward through or above the bar A, and is designed to sink into the heel of the boi t or shoe to keep the device in proper position, or from sliding backward or forward. (See Fig. 2.)

E is a semicircular bar or strap, the ends of which are permanently attached to the bar A at the lower parts of the upright parts a a ofthe same. lhe bar or strap E is of such dimensions that it will encompass and it snugly to the lower part of the heel of the boot or shoe when the device is applied thereto. The strap B passes over the instep and secures the device to the boot or shoe. The bar A and strap E may be of wrought-iron or other suitable metal, but the claw C should be of steel or wrought-iron case-hardened.

The whole device may be constructed at a triiing cost, very readily applied to the boot or shoe, and without the possibility of becoming loose or casually detached. By making the spur D in connection or in one piece with the claw O these parts, which are required to be sharp and to resist wear, may be constructed of harder material, or hardened together at one operation. I do not,howcver, restrict myself to the manner ot' applying the spur directly to the claw.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

In combination with the bar A, ears a a,

and strap E, or any substantially equivalent l means of attachment to the heel ot' the boot or shoe, the claw O, constructed in the manner described with a double row of teeth, b b, to prevent forward, backward, and lateral slipping, and a spur, D, projecting upward through or above the bar A, and adapted to penetrate the heel, as hereinbefore explained.

WM. FIELD. Witnesses:

TIMOTHY SHINE, J. W. OooMBs. 

